Thích Nhất Hạnh, a Buddhist monk hailing from Vietnam, is the recipient of the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award for 2015.

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would be next recipient of the annual award, and surprisingly, both he and Thich Nhat Hanh shared a common tie – Thích Nhất Hạnh met with King the following year, asking him to condemn the Vietnam War which was ravaging the monk's homeland, and the African-American rights leader was only happy to oblige in 1967. That year, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. nominated Thích Nhất Hạnh for the Nobel Peace Prize, although his public statement that he had nominated the Buddhist monk was in violation of norms and no award was bestowed that year. In commemoration of their historic relationship, a contingent of 120 Buddhist monks will receive the honor on behalf of their 'Thay' (meaning 'Master' or 'Teacher') on October 31, the same day Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was selected for the award. Having suffered a stroke earlier, the 89-year-old Zen master is not physically well enough to make the trip to Davenport, as previous recipients of the award have done, and so Bishop Martin John Amos of the Diocese of Davenport will travel to the 400-acre Deer Park Monastery in California, which was established by Thích Nhất Hạnh in 2000, to present the award.

Thích Nhất Hạnh was forced to flee Vietnam following a failed assassination attempt in 1966, and was accorded official permission to visit the country of his birth only in 2005. In 1982, he founded the Plum Village, a monastery in Bordeaux, and is quoted to have said that on the altar there rests images of both Jesus Christ and Buddha, to whom he lights incense, remembering them as his spiritual ancestors.

Thich Nhat Hanh has been chosen to receive this year’s Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award. A representative of Nhat Hanh, along with 120 monastics in his order, will accept the award on his behalf on October 31 — the 50th anniversary of the same honor being granted to his friend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Given annually since 1964 by Davenport Catholic Interracial Council, the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is a Catholic peace award in commemoration of Pope John XXIII’s 1963 encyclical letter Pacem in terris (Peace on Earth). The award is given, “to honor a person for their achievements in peace and justice, not only in their country but in the world.”

Dr. King recommended Thich Nhat Hanh for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967 saying, “Nhat Hanh has… traveled the world, counseling statesmen, religious leaders, scholars and writers, and enlisting their support. His ideas for peace, if applied, would build a monument to ecumenism, to world brotherhood, to humanity.”

Thich Nhat Hanh suffered a stroke last November and in July he was taken to California for rehabilitation.

It may seem a little unusual for Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh to be honored by a Catholic annual award, particularly as the past recipients are notably populated by great Bishops, priests, monks and sisters, but anyone familiar with “Thay’s” life would more likely react, What took so long?

The mission of the award makes the choice a natural one, even though he is a Buddhist teacher. The award mission is “to honor a person for the achievements in peace and justice, not only in their country but in the world.”[1] One of the earliest recipients, in 1965, was Martin Luther King Jr. It’s worth noting, too, that Nobel Lauriet Martin Luther King Jr. himself nominated Thich Nhat Hanh for a Nobel Peace Prize in 1967. Martin Luther King called him, “An apostle of peace and nonviolence.” Notably, this year, the year Thay becomes a recipient, is the 50th anniversary of the presentation of the same award to Martin Luther King.

Thich Nhat Hanh with Martin Luther King Jr. 50 years after Martin Luther King won the Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award, Thich Nhat Hanh became a recipient. Martin Luther King Jr. nominated Thay for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1967.

Like the Dalai Lama, Thich Nhat Hanh is known for helping bring together various religions. His history of peace work stretches back through the decades. During the Vietnam war, in 1964, he famously organized seven boats filled with food, then personally delivered them at great personal risk, to people suffering in the war. He was forced to flee his own country after assassination attempts, brought on by his continuous call for peace in the war-torn country. His call for peace continued through the years. In 1969 he represented the Buddhist Peace Delegation for the Paris Peace talks. Although his work helped result in the signing of the 1973 Paris Peace Accords, it also resulted in ongoing formal exile from Vietnam. His worked for peace and to help refugees continued for decades. Even recently, in 2005 and 2007, he was outspoken and led peace walks to bring awareness to the racial tension in Los Angeles. He is also extremely outspoken in Climate Change issues.

He is well known as the founder of Socially Engaged Buddhism and is, perhaps, the inspiring force behind the popularity of mindfulness in the west. He authored over 45 books, many of them bestsellers. He is well known for his west-east bridging book “Living Buddha, Living Christ.” His writings and teachings on the difficult subject of “Emptiness” in Buddhism are among the easiest to understand in print.

About Thich Nhat Hanh

In November last year, many around the world worried for his health, after being treated for a brain hemorrhage. Millions of people around the world worried and prayed as he endured a seven week coma. Even now, due to a stroke, he is unable to travel to Davenport to recieve the prestigious award. In fact, Bishop Martin Amos will travel to Deer Park Buddhist Monetary to present the award.

Thich Nhat Hanh, after years of exile, was finally permitted to return to Vietnam.

Thich Nhat Hanh is among the best known of Buddhist teachers, and a moving force in Zen Buddhism around the world. He is respected by spiritual leaders of many spiritual paths and religions. In 2013, on the Plum Village website, Thay is quoted as saying: “On the altar at my hermitage in France are images of Buddha and Jesus, and every time I light incense, I touch both of them as my spiritual ancestors.”

Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award

The Pacem in Terris Peace and Freedom Award is a peace award, given since 1964, first conceived of by the Davenport Catholic Interracial Council in 1963.